Access to Justice Development (MK0136)

Access to jusice development
Start and end date of the commitment: August 2018 – August 2020
Lead implementing agency
Ministry of Justice of RM
Description of commitment
Status quo or problem addressed by the commitment
The right to access to justice is one of the fundamental human rights. The exercise of this right is connected and depends on the availability of legal services for all citizens, regardless of their material and social position. Access to justice for all citizens depends on the efficiency and quality of the free legal aid system, as the only form recognized
by the Ministry of Justice, while for some of the poor and marginalized groups of citizens it depends on informal forms of legal assistance (legal aid, judicial representation and paralegal assistance) provided by civil society organizations. The results of the survey on legal needs of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia indicate that every second citizen of the Republic of Macedonia is facing a legal problem. The problem is the fact that many citizens do not recognize whether the problem is legal and do not know where to turn to. Research on the legal needs of certain marginalized groups (Roma, drug users, and sex workers) indicate that these citizens, due to marginalization and stigmatization, are additionally disabled in recognizing and resolving the legal problems they face. The lack of trust in institutions, insufficient information and ignorance and the unfavorable social and economic situation are the most common problems due to which the citizens coming from poor and marginalized communities have difficulty in accessing justice.
Main objective
Effective access to quality, efficient and complementary communitybased legal services
Brief description of the commitment
Once the Law on Free Legal Assistance enters into force, the Ministry of Justice, together with FOSM, will conduct a National Survey of Citizens' Legal Needs in order to develop a plan or strategy for legal strengthening in accordance with previously obtained findings. The plan, or strategy, will be prepared by the ministry in cooperation with CSOs and Free legal aid providers, paralegal assistance and other legal services models. The Ministry of Justice, in partnership with CSOs will finance and maintain the existing databases and the website http://www.pravnozajakni.mk which contains information on all forms of legal assistance and equal access to justice for all citizens. Furthermore, in collaboration with CSOs, the Ministry will develop a methodology for assessing the capacities and quality of the provided free legal aid by the regional departments, as well as a methodology for monitoring the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Assistance, as well as conducting a campaign aimed at raising awareness among citizens regarding the right to free legal assistance.
OGP challenge addressed by the commitment
- Public services improvement - Increasing public integrity - More efficient public resources management - Creating safer communities
Additional information
Reference to Global Sustainable Development Goals - Objective 16 "Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions", Target 16.3 Promote the rule of law at the national and international level and ensure equal access to justice for all. The measures of this commitment directly contribute to the promotion of the rule of law at international, national and local levels, as well as approximation of legal services to citizens in order to ensure equal access to justice.
Milestone
6.1.1 Addopting a Law on Free Legal Assistance
6.1.2. Conducting national research on the citizens’ legal needs
6.1.3. Preparation of a National Plan (strategy) for legal strengthening
6.1.4. Monitoring the implementation of the Law through methodology developement and preparation of an analysis for assessment of the Units’ capacities
6.1.5. Participation in cross-sectoral policymaking for legal strengthening with other concerned ministries, institutions and local governments at national and local level
6.1.6. Prepared report on provided legal assistance for each year separately
6.1.7. Conducting a campaign for legal strengthening of citizens
6.1.8. Organizing sessions for legal strengthening of citizens
6.1.9. Support for maintenance of existing databases and the website http://www.pravnozajakni.mk which contains information on all forms of legal assistance and equal access to justice for all citizens
Contact information
Name of responsible person from implementing agency
Irina Dimitrovska Mikeska
Title, Department
Sector for free legal assistance and political system
Phone and e-mail
071/22-45-01 idimitrovska@mjustice.gov.mk
Other actors involved
Regional units of the Ministry of Justice, municipalities
Network for legal strengthening, consisted of 19 civil society organizations (CSOs), coordinated by the Foundation Open Society - Macedonia (FOSM) Ivona Stalevska, FOSM ivona.stalevska@fosm.mk Hristina Vasilevska Dimchevska, FOSM hristina.vasilevska@fosm.mk

Theme VI: Access to Justice

6.1. Access to justice development

Language of the commitment as it appears in the action plan: [79]

“Once the Law on Free Legal Assistance enters into force, the Ministry of Justice, together with FOSM, will conduct a National Survey of Citizens' Legal Needs in order to develop a plan or strategy for legal strengthening in accordance with previously obtained findings. The plan, or strategy, will be prepared by the ministry in cooperation with CSOs and Free legal aid providers, paralegal assistance and other legal services models. The Ministry of Justice, in partnership with CSOs will finance and maintain the existing databases and the website http://www.pravnozajakni.mk which contains information on all forms of legal assistance and equal access to justice for all citizens. Furthermore, in collaboration with CSOs, the Ministry will develop a methodology for assessing the capacities and quality of the provided free legal aid by the regional departments, as well as a methodology for monitoring the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Assistance, as well as conducting a campaign aimed at raising awareness among citizens regarding the right to free legal assistance.”

Milestones:

6.1.1. Addopting a Law on Free Legal Assistance

6.1.2. Conducting national research on the citizens’ legal needs

6.1.3. Preparation of a National Plan (strategy) for legal strengthening

6.1.4. Monitoring the implementation of the Law through methodology developement and preparation of an analysis for assessment of the Units’ capacities

6.1.5. Participation in cross-sectoral policymaking for legal strengthening with other concerned ministries, institutions and local governments at national and local level

6.1.6. Prepared report on provided legal assistance for each year separately

6.1.7. Conducting a campaign for legal strengthening of citizens

6.1.8. Organizing sessions for legal strengthening of citizens

6.1.9. Support for maintenance of existing databases and the website http://www.pravnozajakni.mk which contains information on all forms of legal assistance and equal access to justice for all citizens.

Start Date: August 2018

End Date: August 2020

Context and Objectives

This commitment proposes several measures aimed at strengthening access to legal assistance in North Macedonia. According to research by the Foundation Open Society- Macedonia (FOSM), half of the North Macedonian population (49 percent) reported having experienced at least one justice problem over a period of three years. The most common problems are housing and property related (26.4 percent) ^[80] and other commonly reported problems include those related to employment, consumer problems, and money or debt. More recently, the World Justice Project’s 2019 Global Insights on Access to Justice Report found that 47 percent of survey respondents in North Macedonia reported having experienced a legal problem in the past two years, 15 percent were able to access help, and 36 percent felt that the process to resolve their legal problem was fair. [81] According to a representative of the FOSM, many people in North Macedonia are unaware of their legal rights and decide not to pursue formal processes for resolving legal problems due to the burdensome financial expenses associated with court procedures. [82] Instead, citizens often prefer to seek legal help from friends, relatives, or associations where they can receive this help for free.

This commitment proposes a variety of activities aimed to improve access to justice. There are calls to adopt a new Law on Free Legal Assistance (LFLA) to replace the existing 2009 law. [83] Under the previous LFLA, the criteria for obtaining free legal aid were strict and limited to citizens, and there was no independent body overseeing the implementation of the law. [84] The new LFLA will extend the scope of legal issues for which free legal aid can be approved, and also extend the scope of preliminary legal aid provided by authorized associations and regional offices of the Ministry of Justice. In addition, under the new law, the state will cover all costs resulting from a legal dispute for which free legal aid is granted, including administrative and court fees, as well as costs for expertise. [85]

The commitment also aims to conduct national research on citizens’ legal needs after the new LFLA is adopted, prepare a national strategy for legal strengthening, and continuously monitor the implementation of the LFLA. Other activities involve conducting a campaign and organizing sessions for legal strengthening of citizens, and continuously maintaining the newly launched http://www.pravnozajakni.mk website, which serves as a resource for information on rights and available legal services. [86] According to FOSM, the database will allow users to request legal assistance and search among frequently encountered legal problems to find the most appropriate option for them.

This commitment is relevant to the OGP values of access to information as it aims to strengthen public access to information on options for free legal assistance, and to encourage accountability because it plans to make access to justice cheaper, easier to obtain, and more efficient for the public. It is also relevant to the OGP value of civic participation because the Ministry of Justice plans to collaborate with civil society to develop a methodology for assessing the capacities and quality of the provided free legal aid by regional departments, as well as a methodology for monitoring the implementation of the Law on Free Legal Assistance. The proposed activities are verifiable, though some lack details such as the campaign and sessions on legal empowerment of citizens (milestones 6.1.7 and 6.1.8), as well as the new information that will be available on the http://www.pravnozajakni.mk website.

If fully implemented, this commitment could potentially transform access to justice in North Macedonia. Particularly, the new LFLA could address many of the deficiencies in the previous law as explained above. In addition, the related reporting, monitoring, campaigning and cross-sectoral policy making would raise awareness among the administrations and public and facilitate implementation of the law.

Next steps

For the National Plan (Milestone 6.1.3), the IRM recommends that the Ministry of Justice considers carrying out a participatory planning process with government and non-government stakeholders, experts, and representatives of core beneficiaries. Such a consultation could have several parts and build on a legal needs survey:

• Prioritize and rank legal needs based on prevalence and impact;
• Identify capacities by sector (e.g. housing, employment, family law, criminal law);
• Map the gaps between the two areas above;
• Identify fair, cost-effective means of support including, but not limited to:
  • public awareness campaigns;
  • support (subsidies, court fees, tax exemption, grants, training) to non-governmental legal services providers;
  • a full spectrum of dispute resolution mechanisms (administrative, judicial, and private).

Additionally, the IRM recommends the following:

• Lay out timeframe and frequency where reporting, action, and research would be conducted and delivered.
• Provide an opportunity for CSOs and the public to participate in and comment on the LFLA, both before and during its current adoption phase, and form a working group, including CSOs, to review the drafts and propose amendments.
• Hold public consultations and expert roundtables to debate the research findings and draft strategy and conduct an assessment of the availability (and cost) of the right skills in the legal profession in sufficient numbers to meet the needs.

[79] The texts for all the commitments are an abridged version of the commitment texts. For the full commitment texts, see the Republic of North Macedonia 2018-2020 National Action Plan, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Macedonia_Action-Plan_2018-2020_EN.pdf

[80] Law Watch Analyses, Legal needs and path to justice in the Republic of Macedonia, https://fosm.mk/wp-content/uploads/publications/20131810-Analiza-eng.pdf

[81] World Justice Project, Global insights on access to justice, p 62, https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/WJP-A2J-2019.pdf

[82] Ivona Stalevska, Program Coordinator, Foundation Open Society- Macedonia, email correspondence with IRM, 10 December 2019.

[83] The Assembly of the Republic of Macedonia, https://www.legislationline.org/download/id/4418/file/fYROM_Law%20on%20Free%20Legal%20Aid_2009_en.pdf

[84] European Commission, https://www.equalitylaw.eu/downloads/4895-republic-of-north-macedonia-new-law-on-free-legal-aid-provides-clear-ground-for-protection-in-discrimination-cases-pdf-91-kb

[85] Ivona Stalevska, Program Coordinator, Foundation Open Society- Macedonia, email correspondence with IRM, 10 December 2019.

[86] Foundation Open Society Macedonia, https://fosm.mk/en/current-project/new-website-with-advice-for-legal-empowerment-of-citizens/

Commitment 6.1 Access to justice development

Substantial:

For details regarding the implementation and early results of this commitment, see Section 2.3.

Aim of the commitment

This commitment sought to strengthen the legal framework around access to justice in North Macedonia by adopting a new Law on Free Legal Aid, monitoring the implementation of this new law, and preparing a national strategy for legal empowerment. It also involved conducting a legal needs survey to prioritize the major legal needs in the country and identify fair, cost-effective means of support. Finally, the commitment entailed updating the http://www.pravnozajakni.mk webpage with information on options for free legal assistance and to improve the quality of the legal aid provided.

Did it open government?

Major

This commitment was substantially implemented overall. The new Law on Free Legal Aid was adopted in May 2019 [91] and entered into force in October 2019. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) published the report on the implementation of the law in March 2020 [92] and planned to analyze the capacities of the ministry’s employees. [93] The ministry continued to publish annual reports on legal assistance, and activities regarding the campaign for legal empowerment have taken place, including workshops for citizens and trainings. [94] A review of the approaches and modalities for preparation and implementation of the legal needs assessment in the country was submitted to the ministry for approval (prepared within a project between the MoJ and the Council of Europe). [95] The MoJ, together with the Foundation Open Society Macedonia (FOSM), was to conduct national level research regarding citizens’ legal needs, but this is now planned as part of the project between the MoJ and the Council of Europe so as to avoid duplication.

Awareness of legal aid was promoted in print and electronic media, talk shows, and sessions for legal empowerment by involved CSOs in cooperation with local authorities, the ministry, and lawyers. [96] Some of the planned activities are still being implemented as a result of the impact of COVID-19 and the delayed entry into force of the new Law on Free Legal Aid. [97] The 2018-2020 action plan envisaged for the new law to be adopted in October 2018, but it was not adopted until 16 May 2019. It became applicable on 1 October 2019. [98] However, these activities are a positive step towards raising awareness and access to information regarding citizens’ legal rights.

The FOSM provided introductory trainings for ministry staff, CSOs, and local legal aid providers, which was the precondition for the preparation of the national strategy for legal empowerment. [99] In addition, a working group within the ministry in partnership with CSOs for intersectoral coordination with other institutions has been formed. [100] However, some of the planned activities under this commitment, such as the national research concerning citizens’ legal needs and preparing the national strategy, [101] are yet to be implemented. The national-level research on citizens’ legal needs was not implemented because it is now planned as part of a project between the ministry and the Council of Europe. [102]

The new Law on Free Legal Aid significantly strengthens the legal framework in the country. [103] The previous law lacked practical applicability and contained ambiguities; hence, the new law was drafted in cooperation with experts via the European Commission’s Technical Assistance and Information Exchange to ensure citizens’ needs are met and that its provisions are compatible with EU acquis requirements. [104] The new law relaxes the conditions for citizens to obtain free legal aid, which promotes equal access to justice, especially for poor and marginalized groups. [105] It provides free legal assistance for almost all legal matters. Additional expenses related to legal proceedings, such as judicial expertise and court fees, are also covered, which was not the case before. [106] In practical terms, the new law eases access to justice as it lowers the criteria for obtaining legal assistance and allows legal aid for a variety of legal problems. Any citizen has the right to primary legal aid [107] (i.e., general legal information, general legal advice, or assistance with filling in forms), which can be provided by the MoJ or a legal clinic in a faculty of law. However, according to a MoJ representative, further amendments to the new law may be needed based on analysis of its implementation over a certain period. [108]

Since the introduction of the new Law on Free Legal Aid, the number of applications for legal aid has increased. In 2020, the MoJ, through its regional offices, authorized associations, and legal clinics, provided primary legal aid in 2,727 cases, and approved 132 of 207 requests for secondary legal aid (i.e., professional legal aid for specific legal matters for those unable to pay for the expenses). [109] In 2018, under the old law, 156 requests for legal aid were submitted, and free legal aid was provided in 80 cases. [110] These numbers suggest that the simplified division of legal aid into primary and secondary encourages citizens to seek initial legal advice and obtain support for their application for secondary legal aid where applicable.

As part of this commitment, FOSM updated the webpage http://www.pravnozajakni.mk, which is now the main source for information on legal assistance in North Macedonia. The webpage includes video materials explaining the legal and institutional changes from the new Law on Free Legal Aid, legal advice for citizens including examples of human rights breaches, and guidance on how to seek legal protection when needed. In addition, the webpage has contacts available from CSOs whose work involves providing legal assistance to citizens, i.e., free legal aid, paralegal assistance, strategic litigation, advocacy, etc. It improves upon the existing webpage of the MoJ, http://www.pravnapomos.mk, which does not contain video material or hypothetical examples for access and understanding of legal situations. However, the information on FOSM’s webpage is currently available only in the Macedonian language, while the ministry’s page is available in both the Macedonian and Albanian languages. In addition, the http://www.pravnozajakni.mk webpage is not financed and maintained by the MoJ, as envisaged in the action plan, but is maintained by FOSM with financial support from the EU. While it is not clear the extent to which citizens have used these webpages to obtain information regarding their right to free legal assistance, the significant increase in the number of applications for legal aid suggests that more citizens are aware of their rights. [111]